


i wouldn't mind it

by agreaterlove



Category: Girl Meets World
Genre: F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Feelings, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-13
Updated: 2016-07-13
Packaged: 2018-07-23 16:59:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,269
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7471842
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/agreaterlove/pseuds/agreaterlove
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He opens the door for her, the whole nine yards.</p>
            </blockquote>





	i wouldn't mind it

**Author's Note:**

> okay so i fell completely in love with this pairing and their dynamic. their potential is just !!!! i also had a lot of fun writing them (individually and together). anyway

 

“We finally have our _in_ , dude,” Zay says, clapping Lucas on the shoulder.

Lucas spins a basketball between his hands. He stops it with a sharp _thunk._ “Which is---?”

Zay shakes his head. “Were you not listenin’?”

“No, I was practicing basketball. Which is why we came here.”

Zay wraps an arm around his shoulders. Given his recent growth spurt over the years, this has become easier to do. No one else is in the school gym, given that the last group of people just left, but Zay says in a low voice, “Brian Stefano’s party. That’s our in.”

Lucas draws his eyebrows together. “You know that’s not like the type of party you’re thinking of. I’m pretty sure the dress code’s bow ties and button downs.”

“I don’t know, man. But I think he just forgot to tell us about it. I mean, we’re all on the same football team. And if we go, we’re _sure_ to be captain or co-captain come next year.”

“If you say so. But don’t we need dates? I’m pretty sure it would be pretty weird if we showed up by ourselves.”

“Hey,” Zay says. He dusts his hands off. “Easy. Like takin’ candy from a baby.” He steps back and raises his eyebrows. “Better start lookin’, co-captain. Although I’m pretty sure you won’t have a problem choosin’ between your pool of girls.” He knocks the basketball out of Lucas’s hands and walks away. “See you around, Friar.” He pushes open the gym doors and leaves.

  


Zay lied. Finding a date was harder than he expected it to be.

“So, Riley Smiley,” he says, spinning around in his seat before History class. “Would you be interested at all in accompanying me to Brian Stefano’s party this Saturday night?”

Riley shuts the book she was reading and turns to look at him. She squints her eyes and says slowly, “Zayyy, I--”

“You don’t _actually_ have to be my date. We could pretend!” Zay offers. He knows her chances of accepting are slim, especially considering her and Brian had an awkward run-in sophomore year, and Zay was pretty sure Brian was still interested in her.

She smiles really big and starts to shake her head.

“You know what, forget I asked.” He turns back around.

Maya strolls in, one minute until class starts and takes her seat behind Riley.

Zay looks at her. “Maya China, would you--”

“No,” she says without looking up.

Zay clenches his fists. “Kinda expected that.”

Mr. Matthews comes into the room, opens his briefcase and pulls out his notes, but just when he opens his mouth to speak, the door opens. Smackle rushes into the room, glasses askew, hair a mess, and her backpack, which hangs on one shoulder, zipped open. She’s two minutes late, something no one thought they’d ever see. She slaps a note on his desk, mumbles an apology, and takes her seat.

Zay looks over his shoulder to see her with her arms folded and her head down. He thinks to say something, but Matthews has already started the lesson.

  


Throughout class, all Zay can think about is Smackle. He’s concerned for her, because he always considered her to be pretty tough. Especially in the wake of her and Farkle’s break up, which happened not even a month ago. Zay approaches her after class.

She’s kneeling down next to her locker, shoving books into it quickly. Zay leans against the locker next to hers. “Hey, Isa--Smackle.”

She tucks her head behind her ear and glances up at him. “Hi, Zay.” She shuts her locker and stands up.

“You--uh--looked a little off in class today,” he notes.

“I overslept. My alarm didn’t go off. No big deal.” She hugs her books to her chest, staring at him expectantly. Her face is bright and her hair neatly falling over her shoulders, no evidence of having overslept. “Zay?” she asks, snapping him out of his trance.

He pats his hand against the locker. “Right, right,” he mumbles. And then he gets an idea. An outlandish one. Ask Smackle to be his date. It isn’t, admittedly, _too_ outlandish. Smackle’s cool as hell to Zay. He was wary of her when she first joined their group, but she fit right in, surprisingly. She’s smart, capable, and, oddly enough, completely girlfriend material. Maybe not of the usual Isaiah Babineaux standard, but maybe even better. Yet Smackle probably isn’t the best choice to make him seem cooler to the rest of the players, and not enough to earn him the spot of captain. Zay slams his hand against the lockers and pushes off them. “Would you like to be my date to Brian Stefano’s party? On Saturday?”

“Brian Stefano,” she says slowly, “captain of the football team?”

“Yeah,” Zay says. “I mean, it doesn’t have to be real. But, you could pretend to be my girlfriend. You see, Lucas and I are hopin’ to make captain and co-captain next year. You understand, right? Plus you’re always goin’ on about how I’m totally interested in you. You just gotta do that, except like a thousand times more.”

“I see,” she says. She turns around to lean against the lockers. Zay hops around her so he’s in front of her. “Did you and Lucas have to flip a coin to see who would take me? I know you two have been desperate since I broke up with Farkle.”

“Uhh--”

“Let me get this straight: you want me to pretend to be your girlfriend in an effort to make you seem more popular and desirable, probably stemming from insecurity. This is not the best route to address your problems, Zay, but due to my lack of social activities for that particular day, I _will_ pretend to be your girlfriend.”

Zay blinks at her. “You ‘coulda just said yes.”

  


“I heard you’re taking Smackle to Brian Stefano’s party. As a date,” Farkle says to Zay after school.

“Uh, yeah. Y’all broke up, right?” Zay says. He knows the answer.

Farkle tightens his grip on his backpack straps. “Yeah.” And then he tries to smile. His eyes shift, glancing at Riley who’s walking past them. “Treat her well.” He shuts his locker and rushes away after Riley.

 

The party starts at seven. He picks her up at six. She lives in a little mint green townhouse on the edge of the city. Zay doesn’t know what he expected. The dirt and grime on his truck clashes with the neatness of the whole neighborhood.

She hops down the stairs, wobbling a little bit because she’s wearing heels. Despite this, she still barely comes up to his shoulders. She’s wearing a lacy blue dress and her hair is curled. Her heels clack against the pavement as she walks over to him. She raises her eyebrows. “My eyes are up here, Zay.”

Zay adjusts his bowtie and pulls on the collar of the shirt. “You look nice, Smackle.”

“Oh, do I?” she teases.

Zay nods. “Yeah.”

She presses her lips together, probably thinking of something witty to say back. For probably the first time in her life, she fails. “You look rather dashing yourself.”

He opens the door for her, the whole nine yards. Because his truck is high off the ground, he has to help her into it. Her hand is small in his.

  


“I think to make it more realistic, I should call you nicknames. Like sweetheart, or--”

“No. Absolutely not. You’re not callin’ me those names you used on Farkle. No way in hell,” Zay affirms. He waves a hand, signaling the end of the argument.

He hears Smackle fall back into her seat with a _huff_. “You like it. Everyone likes it. It’s part of love. It’s special, like a promise, or something.”

Zay shakes his head. “That’s--you can call me Zay or Isaiah. That’s it.”

He glances at her out of the corner of his eye and sees her smirk. “Okay, sweetie-bear.”

  


Smackle _insists_ on them locking arms. Zay thinks they look a bit funny, but Smackle’s proud smile kind of makes up for it.

He spots Lucas when they walk in. Maya’s next to him in a red gown.

Zay shoves his free hand into his pocket. “Guess that wasn’t too hard, huh?”

Lucas chuckles nervously. Maya rolls her eyes. “Please, Huckleberry had to practically _beg_ me.”

Lucas shakes his head and stutters, “No--not really--not-- _so,_ Smackle?”

“Lucas,” Smackle acknowledges. “Try not to act too jealous. The venue is very nice. Wouldn’t want a fight breaking out.” But she winks at him before tugging Zay over to a cloth-covered table with fake candles clustered in the center.

She stands on her toes (in _heels)_ and places her hand on his shoulder, pushing him down so she can whisper in his ear. “Laugh like I said something hilarious.”

He looks at her with a questioning look. “Ha ha,” he deadpans.

She punches him in the arm. Hard. And Zay always thought Farkle was just weak.

“ _Smackle.”_

She smiles. “I saw a chocolate fountain on the way in. And _strawberries.”_ She skips over the to buffet. Zay’s smile is anything but fake.

  


They’re sitting at a table across from Brian Destefano when Smackle reaches under the table and begins tugging on Zay’s before shoving her hand down his pants.

Zay immediately grabs her hand. “Whoa--Smackle,” he whispers. He never pegged her as the handsy type. Not that Zay was complaining.

She draws her hand back sheepishly. “You’re shirt wasn’t tucked in,” she explains quietly.

Zay leans back and shuts his eyes. Brian eyes them over his glass of water. “Everything okay over there?” He smirks knowingly.

Letting out a choked laugh, Zay rests his hand on his stomach. “Yeah, everything’s fine.”

Smackle eyes him. When he meets her eyes, she adjusts her glasses and looks away. He excuses himself and heads to the bathroom to tuck his shirt in. Smackle’s smug look makes it almost worth it.

  


It’s the end of the night when Zay finds Smackle sitting on one of the tables, half the football team gathered around her as she tells a story. They all laugh in unison while she smiles up at them, practically glowing. In that moment, he can imagine Smackle sitting at the top of the bleachers with _his_ letterman jacket draped over her shoulders. Not that the vision would ever be a reality. Not that he’d admit he wants it to be real. Not that he would ever ask her out. Not that he wouldn’t at least _consider_ asking her out.

He shoves his hands into his pockets and decides to just watch as she dives into another story. She pauses, waits for the punchline to sink in, and the room fills with deep laughs from the team. Eventually the crowd parts, a few patting Smackle on the shoulder.

Zay waltzes over to her, but he’s cut off by Brian. “Hey...Babineaux,” he says.

Zay nods. “Destefano.”

Brian presses his lips together. “Smackle’s a pretty cool girl. You’re lucky.”

Zay smirks and lets out a half-snort. It doesn’t faze him. “I know,” he says shortly. Because he does.

Brian claps him on the arm and heads outside to join the rest of the team.

He gives Smackle finger-guns as she looks up and smiles at him. He leans against the table next to her. She looks down into her lap.

“Please don’t tell me you’re jealous,” she whines extra-dramatically.

Zay cracks a smile and shakes his head. “You just can’t stop, can you?”

Smackle scoots closer to him. “You know, they told me you have a chance of being captain next year.”

“That’s Lucas, not me. I’m co-captain. Always have been, always will.” He looks down at his feet, avoiding her eyes.

She draws her eyebrows together. “I know you brought me here because you wanted to impress the team. So that you might appear _suitable_ in their eyes, thereby giving you a lead in the pool of potential team captains. I’m not oblivious, Isaiah.”

“Smackle--”

“I mean, you must’ve thought pretty highly of me to think I’d sway their opinions.” She bumps her shoulder against his. Zay can’t help but smile. “You’re a good guy, Zay. Don’t let your insecurity weigh you down.”

Zay scoffs. _“Inse--”_

Smackle shoots him a glare, cutting him off.

“Hm,” he mumbles instead. “You’re pretty awesome...too, Smackle.” He glances at her for a second before looking away. He feels her looking at him.

She shifts to his left and he opens his mouth to say something, but he’s stunned silent as she kisses his cheek. And then she hops off the table, heels dangling in her hand like it’s no big deal. “Ready to leave? You’re driving me home, right?”

Zay blinks. “Uh--yeah, yeah. Yeah, I’m driving home-- _you_ home, I mean. I’m driving you home,” he stutters.

Smackle smiles, probably enthralled by his sudden sheepishness. Like he’s her latest science experiment.

On the drive home, all Zay can think is _Smackle, Smackle, Smackle, Smackle._ And it’s all he can think after he drops her off. (He walks her up to the door. She doesn’t kiss him again. A simple hug is sufficient). And it’s all he can think when he gets home. And before he falls asleep. It’s new, exciting, and a little bit scary. It’s unlike his crushes on cheerleaders and any obviously-attractive girl he meets. Because he’s not thinking about the status it’ll bring him. She’s not a way to cure his insecurity. It’s just her. Smackle. Urban Dictionary calls it a crush.

**Author's Note:**

> catch me on tumblr at: agreaterlove


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